Refiner base

ABSTRACT

A base for a pulp refiner of the type wherein the refining surfaces are supported at substantially the longitudinal axial center of the base. The base comprises a pair of end members the facing portions of which are in parallel spaced relationship with the refining surfaces supported therebetween. The end members are joined by a pair of rails in parallel spaced relationship and affixed to the end members along their upper longitudinal edges. Means are provided for mounting the refiner base on a supporting foundation. The mounting means are such that one of the end members of the base is fixedly secured to the foundation at two points lying in a plane extending transversely of that end member and the refiner base. The remainder of the refiner base is capable of longitudinal shifting with respect to the foundation toward and away from the above mentioned plane when subjected to thermal contraction and expansion due to heat generated by the refining operation, whereby to prevent bowing and distortion of the refiner base and to maintain parallelism of the refining surfaces.

Uni ttes Sheen et al.

[ RlEl lNlER EASE [73] Assignee: The Bauer Bros. Co., Springfield,

Ohio

[22] Filed: May 24-, 11972 [21] Appl. No.: 256,548

[52] 11.8. C1 281/251, 241/286, 248/19 [51] lnt. C1. B2 11) 41/02, 302C7/14 [58] Field 011 Search 241/285 R, 285 A, 244,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,111,274 9/1914 Sorensen241/251 1,738,288 12/1929 Eppenbach.... 241/251 2,568,783 9/1951Woodruff 241/285 R 3,166,260 1/1965 Steiniger et a1 241/285 R 3,589,6296/1971 Michel et a1 241/251 3,369,783 2/1968 Keating 248/19 3,589.62)6/1971 Michel 241/251 Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer, Jr.Assistant Examinerlloward N. Goldberg flttorney, Agent, or FirmJerome1?. Bloom 7 [5 7] ABSTRACT A base for a pulp refiner of the type whereinthe refining surfaces are supported at substantially the longitudinalaxial center of the base. The base comprises a pair of end members thefacing portions of which are in parallel spaced relationship with therefining surfaces supported therebetween. The end members are joined bya pair of rails in parallel spaced relationship and affixed to the endmembers along their upper longitudinal edges. Means are provided formounting the refiner base on a supporting foundation. The mounting meansare such that one of the end members of the base is fixedly secured tothe foundation at two points lying in a plane extending transversely ofthat end member and the refiner base. The remainder of the refiner baseis capable of longitudinal shifting with respect to the foundationtoward and away from the above mentioned plane when subjected to thermalcontraction and expansion due to heat generated by the refiningoperation, whereby to prevent bowing and distortion of the refiner baseand to maintain parallelism of the refining surfaces. 1

13 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures marinas sass BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The invention relates to a refiner base, and moreparticularly to a refiner base free of longitudinal bowing anddistortion when subjected to thermal expansion by virtue of the heatgenerated in the general area of the refining surfaces during therefining operation.

2. Description of the Prior Art While not intended to be so limited, forpurposes of an exemplary showing the refiner base of the presentinvention will be described with respect to its application as a basefor a double revolving disk pulp refiner, as is well known in the art.

In general, a double revolving disk refiner comprises a pair of disks inparallel facing relationship. The refining surfaces are affixed to thefacing surfaces of the disks. The pulp to be refined is caused to passbetween the refining surfaces.

The disks and their respective refining surfaces are enclosed in ahousing having inlet means for the pulp to be refined and outlet meansfor the refined pulp. Each disk is mounted on the end of a shaft passingthrough the housing. The disk shafts are coaxial and extend in oppositedirections. Each shaft is provided with a motor means to rotate theshaft and typically the shafts are rotated in opposite directions.

A base means, mounted on an appropriate foundation, is provided tosupport the shafts, their respective motors, disks and refiningsurfaces, together with the housing about the disks and otherappurtenances of the refiner. Heretofore, prior art base structures havegenerally comprised a series of four bearing pedestals in parallelspaced relationship and extending transversely of the base. The bearingpedestals have been joined at their upper corners by a pair of top railsextending longitudinally of the base and at their lower corners by apair of bottom rails extending longitudinally of the base. The bearingpedestals located at the ends of the base have generally been termed theoutboard bearing pedestals and the intermediate bearing pedestals haveusually been termed the inboard bearing pedestals. The disks, carryingthe refining surfaces, and the disk housing were located between theinboard bearing pedestals. Each shaft was supported in hearings on oneof the inboard bearing pedestals and the adjacent one of the outboardbearing pedestals. The motor for each shaft was located between theinboard and outboard bearing pedestals upon which that shaft wasmounted. Finally, the refiner base was affixed to its supportingfoundation by hold-down bolts or the like.

In the refining operation, heat is developed by friction, etc., and isconcentrated in the general area of the refining surfaces. Thus, in thedouble revolving disk refiner used as an exemplary embodiment herein,the heat is concentrated at the axial center of the base between theinboard pedestals and to a greater extent at the top rails of therefiner base than at its bottom rails.

Heretofore, the refiner base has tended to become distorted from uneventhermal expansion. This is true because the inboard bearing pedestalshave tended to expand more than the outboard bearing pedestals and thetop rails have tended to expand more than the bottom rails.

Since both top rails have tended to have the same temperature atoperating equilibrium (the same being true of both bottom rails),thermal expansions across the base have not been a significant problem,but longitudinal thermal expansions have been. This was true because asthe top rails grew longitudinally more than the bottom rails, they havetended to bow upwardly in the middle. At times, the upward bowing of thetop rails has resulted in sufi'icient force on the hold-down boltsaffixing the refiner base to the foundation to cause the bolts to fail.

The upward bowing of the top rails and the greater expansion of theinboard bearing pedestals (as compared to the outboard bearingpedestals) has resulted in a greater upward shift of the inboard shaftbearings than the outboard shaft bearings. Thus, while the refinershafts were coaxial at the outset, they would lose their coaxialrelationship during the refining operation by virtue of the operatingtemperature differentials. This, in turn, would directly affect theparallelism of the refining surfaces and the quality of the refined pulpproduct.

Prior art workers found that it was impractical to attempt to builddistortions into the refining machine such that under operatingconditions the refiner shafts would achieve a coaxial relationship. Thisis true because the operating temperature differentials and theresulting bowing of the base cannot accurately be predicted.

As a result, prior art workers: have attempted to equalize thetemperatures throughout the base by providing bearing pedestals and topand bottom rails of hollow construction with fluid circulatingthroughout these members. While this was partially effective, it was notsufficient to equalize the temperature of the top and bottom rails andbowing and distortion still occurred.

The present invention is directed to a refiner base having inboard andoutboard pedestals and top rails. However, the bottom longitudinal edgesof the base are not provided with continuous bottom rails. Adjacentinboard and outboard bearing pedestals may be joined by bottom railsegments but the inboard pedestals, themselves, are not joined at theirbottoms. Furthermore, the base of the present invention is fixedlysecured to the supporting foundation at only two points. These pointslie on either side of the base and in a plane extending transversely ofthe long axis of the base. At all other points where it is affixed tothe foundation, the base is capable of longitudinal shifting withrespect to the foundation.

As a consequence, the top rails are free to expand without restrictionfrom the bottom rail segments. The bottom rail segments are free toexpand away from the above mentioned two fixed points. Thus, thetendency of the top rails to bow is eliminated. This, in turn, en ablesthe parallelism of the refining surfaces to be maintained. It will beunderstood that, as was the case with prior art refiner bases, thermalexpansion transversely of the base does not offer a severe problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The refiner base of the present inventioncomprises a pair of inboard and a pair of outboard bearing pedestals.The bearing pedestals are joined by a pair of longitudinally extendingtop rails. On each side of the refiner base adjacent inboard andoutboard bearing pedestals may be joined by bottom rail segments, butthe inboard bearing pedestals are not so joined.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, on each side of the refinerbase there is a pair of horizontally oriented mounting flanges. Eachmounting flange ex- I tends between one of the outboard bearingpedestals and the adjacent one of the inboard bearing pedestals. Thecorresponding flanges on either side of the base have diametricallyopposed pairs of holes therein by which the base may be affixed to anappropriate supporting foundation by hold-down bolts or the like. Onepair of diametrically opposed flange holes are so sized that thehold-down bolts extending therethrough fixedly secure the base to thefoundation at the positions of these two holes. These holes lie in aplane extending transversely of the long axis of the base.

The remaining flange holes are elongated whereby at the positions ofthese holes the base is free to shift longitudinally with respect to thefoundation. Thus, when subjected to thermal expansion and contraction,the entire base structure may shift toward and away from the two fixedpoints described above. This, in conjunction with the absence of bottomrails between the inboard bearing pedestals, greatly minimizes oreliminates bowing of the top rails and greatly enhances the maintainingof parallelism between the refining surfaces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a semi-diagrammatic planview of a double revolving disk refiner.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are respectively a side elevational view and a plan viewof a double revolving disk refiner incorporating the base of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view, partly in cross section, illustrating theaffixing of the base to the supporting foundation at one of thepositions wherein the base is capable of longitudinal shifting withrespect to the foundation.

FIG. 5 is a semi-diagrammatic perspective view illustrating the twopoints at which the base is fixedly secured to the foundation and thecommon plane extending transversely of the base and through the twofixed points.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a semi-diagrammaticplan view illustrating the basic elements of a double revolving diskrefiner. In FIG. 1 the base is generally indicated by the index numerall. The base comprises a pair of outboard bearing pedestals 2 and 3, apair of inboard bearing pedestals 4 and 5 and a pair of top rails 6 and7 (indicated in dotted lines). It will be noted that the top rails 6 and7 join the bearing pedestals 2 through 5 at their upper corners. Inprior art constructions, a pair of bottom rails (not shown)corresponding to the top rails 6 and 7 joined the bottom edges of thebearing pedestals 2 through 5. In accordance with the present invention,bottom rail segments are provided, two bottom rail segments beinglocated at each side of the base 1. Thus, on either side the outboardbearing pedestal 3 and the inboard pedestal 5 are joined by bottom railsegments and similarly on each side the outboard bearing pedestal 2 andthe inboard bearing pedestal 4 are joined by bottom rail segments. Twosuch bottom rail segments are in dotted lines at 8 and 9 in FIG. 2. Itwill be understood by one skilled in the art that the top rails 6 and 7and the various bottom rail segments are not readily discernible in thefinished machine because the base is provided with various end and sideplates, grills, and other like appurtenances.

In FIG. 1 a pair of facing refining disks are shown at 10 and 11. Thedisk 10 bears a refining surface 12 and the disk 11 carries a refiningsurface 13.

It will be noted that the disks 10 and 1 l are normally surrounded by ahousing. For purposes of clarity, the housing has been eliminatedin'FIG. 1. However, the housing is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 at 14. Thehousing 14 has an inlet means 15 for pulp to be refined and outlet means16 for the refined pulp. It will be evident from FIGS. 1 through 3 thatthe disks 10 and 11, their respective refining surfaces 12 and 13 andthe surrounding housing 14 are located between the inboard bearingpedestals 4 and 5.

The disk 10 is supported at the end of a shaft 17 which passes throughappropriate sealing means in the housing 14. The shaft 17 is, in turn,supported in an inboard bearing 18 mounted on the inboard bearingpedestal 5 and an outboard bearing 19 mounted on the outboard bearingpedestal 3. A motor means 20 drives the shaft 17 in the direction ofarrow A and is supported on the base between inboard bearing pedestal 5and outboard bearing pedestal 3.

Similarly, the disk 11 is mounted at the end of a shaft 21 which alsopasses through a suitable seal in the housing 14. The shaft 21 issupported by an inboard bearing 22 mounted on the inboard bearingpedestal 4 and an outboard bearing 23 mounted on the outboard bearingpedestal 2. The shaft 21 is rotated in the direction of arrow B by motormeans 24. The motor means 24 is supported by the base between inboardbearing pedestal 4 and outboard bearing pedestal 2. It will be notedfrom arrows A and B that the disks 10 and 11 and their respectiverefining surfaces 12 and 13 are rotated in opposite directions.

Finally, the shaft 21 may be axially shiftable in the bearings 22 and 23so that the distance between refining surfaces 12 and 13 may beaccurately regulated. Means to shift the shaft 21 may take the form of acylinder 25 or other device which is actuated in response to some formof control system (not shown). As a consequence, the end 1a of the base1 is frequently referred to as the control end. Since the inlet 15 (FIG.2) feeds pulp to be refined into the housing 14 from the opposite end ofthe base, the base end 1b is frequently referred to as the feed" end.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the refiner, incorporating the base of the presentinvention, is shown in its entirety (except for various control panelsand the like). In FIGS. 2 and 3, like parts have been given the sameindex numerals as were used in FIG. 1. It wil be noted that the motor 24and part at least of the bearing means 22 and 23 are provided with acover member generally indicated at 26. Similarly, the motor 20 andportions at least of bearings 18 and 19 are provided with a cover meansgenerally indicated at 27.

At its bottom, the base 1 is provided along its side edges with mountingflanges 28 and 29 extending between the outboard bearing pedestal 2 andthe inboard bearing pedestal 4. Similarly, additional mounting flanges30 and 31 extend between outboard bearing pedestal 3 and inboard bearingpedestal 5. Each mounting flange 28 through 31 is affixed to the base inany suitable manner and each may be provided with additional bracingmeans 23a through 311a, respectively.

The mounting flange 23 has a pair of perforations 32 and 33 therein.Similarly, the mounting flange 29 has perforations 34 and 35; themounting flange 30 has perforations 36 and 37; while the mounting flange311 has perforations 33 and 39.

It will be noted that the diametrically opposed pairs of perforations33-35, 32-34 and 36-38 are elongated in configuration. On the otherhand, the diametrically opposed pair of perforations 37-39 are ofcircular configuration. FIG. is a semi-diagrammatic perspective viewillustrating the base member of FIGS. ll through 3 and like parts haveagain been given like index numerals. As is clearly shown in FIG. 5, thediametrically opposed perforations 37 and 39 lie in a plane (indicatedin dotted line at 40) which extends transversely of the base i and isperpendicular to the long axis of the base I. The plane 40 is alsoindicated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The reason for the perforations 37 and 39being circular rather than elongated will be described hereinaf- Thebase ll will be mounted on a suitable supporting foundation. FIG. 4 is afragmentary cross sectional view wherein a portion of the supportingfoundation is indicated at 41. The mounting flange shown in FIG. 4 canbe considered to be any of the mounting flanges 23 through 311 and theperforation shown therein may be considered to be any of theperforations 32 through 36 and 38. For purposes of explanation theflange shown in FIG. 4 shall be considered to be flange 29 and theperforation 34 therein shall be considered to be elon' gated.

At the positions of all of the perforations in the machine mountingflanges, the supporting foundation will usually be provided with soleplates. One such sole plate is shown at 42 in FIG. 4. A portion of thesole plate will extend below the top surface of the foundation 41 andthe sole plate will be affixed to the foundation by any suitable meanssuch as anchor bolts or the like (not shown).

At the position of each of the perforations in the base mountingflanges, the foundation will have an anchor bolt, .l-bolt or othersuitable fastening means embedded therein. The precise nature of thefastening means and the manner in which it is affixed in the foundationdoes not constitute a limitation on the present invention. FIG. 4illustrates an exemplary assembly. In FIG. 4 the sole plate 42 isillustrated as having a bore or perforation 43. A pipe or sleeve 44extend through the perforation 43 and is embedded in the foundation 41.The pipe 44 surrounds the fastening bolt 45. The annular space betweenthe bolt 45 and sleeve 44 is filled with a suitable resilient sealingmaterial 44a.

The bolt 45 extends through the elongated perforation 34 and receives awasher 46 and nut 47.

While it will be evident that with this arrangement the base 1 will besecurely held to the sole plate 42 and foundation 411, the base willnevertheless be free to shift in the directions of arrows C and D byvirture of the elongated configuration of perforation 34. To facilitatethis shifting action, a shim of nylon, Teflon or other suitable materialmay be located between the sole plate 42 and the mounting flange 29. Forpurposes of an examplary showing, a shim 48 is illustrated having upperand lower layers 48a and 43b of stainless steel and an 40 extendingtransversely of the base 11 and perpendicular to the long axis of thebase. The perforations 37 and 39 define two diametrically opposed pointsat which the base i is fixedly secured to the foundation 41. At allother points where the base I is affixed to the foundation (i.e., atperforations 32 through 36 and 38) the base is capable of longitudinalshifting with respect to the foundation.

Thus, during operation, when heat is generated primarily at the locationof the refining surfaces 12 and 13 (i.e., primarily in the area betweeninboard bearing pedestals 4 and 5) thermal expansion or elongation ofthe top rails 6 and 7 will occur. Since the base ll of the presentinvention has split bottom rails, rather than continuous bottom railsextending between inboard bearing pedestals 4 and 5, the top rails arefree to expand and elongate in an axial sense without restriction by thebottom rail segments. Furthermore, the base 1, including the top rails 6and 7 and the bottom rail segments, is free to expand away from. theplane 40 passing through the hold-down bolts in perforations 37 and 39.In this way, the tendency of the top rails 6 and 7 to bow upwardly issubstantially eliminated.

As above seen, by way of the example illustrated, the inventionstructure provides a base wherein end spaced base segments areinterconnected only in an area of the upper portions of their mostadjacent end surfaces to define an opening forming a refiner well. Byvirtue of the connection of the base segments in an area limited to theupper portions thereof and their lower portions being relatively free,and by virtue: of the fixing of only one base segment to ground surfacein a single plane generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of theentire refiner base, the construction described enables the one basesegment to elongate in an axial sense from the described reference planewhile the other base segment may axially shift with the axial elongationinduced by heat in the interconnecting means. Of course, with cooling,the invention enables the refiner base to return towards its originalconfiguration. The simplicity and benefits of the base structure asdescribed will be readily apparent to and comprehended by those versedin the refining art.

Tests have shown that in a double revolving disk refiner provided withthe base of the present invention, incidence of significant deviation ofthe shafts l7 and Zll from their coaxial condition (and thus deviationof the plates l0 and ill from parallelism) due to thermal expansion ofthe base has been substantially eliminated.

Modifications may be made in the invention without departing from thespirit of it. For example, the perforations 3'7 and 39 could beelongated and the perforations 32 and 34 could be circular. Under thesecircumstances, the perforations 32 and 34 would define the two points atwhich the base it is fixedly mounted to the supporting foundation 411.Furthermore, it is within the scope of the present inventon to make thetop rails 6 and 7, the bottom rail segments and the bearing pedestals 2through 5 of hollow construction so that fluid could be circulatedtherethrough for additional thermal stability.

The invention in any case establishes and maintains substantially levelthe refiner base segments and the interconnecting upper rail structure.This in turn establishes and generally maintains the desired relation ofthe opposed refining surfaces under the extreme conditions oftemperature and pressure to which they are subjected in use.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thusprovided a device of the character described possessing the particularfeatures of advantage before enumerated as desirable, but whichobviously is susceptible of modification in its form, proportions,detail construction and arrangement of parts Without departing from theprinciple involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

While in order to comply with the statute the invention has beendescribed in language more or less specific as to structural features,it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificfeatures shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosedcomprise but one of several modes of putting the invention into effectand the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms ormodifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A refiner support structure including a base comprised of end spacedbase segments arranged to seat to a supporting foundation and meansinterconnecting said segments in an area limited to upper portions oftheir most adjacent end surfaces, said end spaced segments and saidinterconnecting means defining a well accommodating opposed refinermeans at least one of which rotates relative the other and said basesegments having means for anchoring thereof to the supporting foundationin a plane generally transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof andfurther means to provide for connection thereof to the supportingfoundation in a manner to accommodate axial elongation and displacementof said base segments relative to said plane whereby to generallymaintain the level of said base segments.

2. A refiner support structure as in claim 1 characterized by each ofsaid base segments defining bearing support structure for orienting thesupported refiner means in a predetermined opposed relation and thearrangement and construction of said base segments providing meanstending to maintain the predetermined opposed relation of said refinermeans.

3. A refiner support structure as in claim 1 characterized by said basesegments having a pair of laterally spaced rail structures forming saidinterconnecting means which are positioned to their outer sides andadjacent their upper ends to establish the upper level of said basesegments in a desired plane of reference and said base segments beingotherwise free of and relatively displaced from each other.

4. A refiner support structure as in claim 1 characterized by said basesegments having additional anchoring means adjacent the bottom thereofformed to provide for a guided restraint of said base segmentsinhibiting vertical displacement thereof from the supporting foundation.

5. A refiner support structure as in claim 1 wherein each of said basesegments includes an inboard and an outboard pedestal in substantiallyparallel spaced relation and said segments are joined by top railsproviding said interconnecting means, said outboard pedestals beinglocated at the remote ends of said segments and said inboard pedestalsbeing included in adjacent end portions of said segments, said inboardand outboard pedestals providing thereon means for accommodating in abearing relation thereto shaft means mounting the opposed refiner means.

6. A refiner support structure as in claim 5 characterized by said endspaced base segments being interconnected by rail members at uppercorners thereof and the inboard and outboard pedestals in each said basesegment being interconnected by further rail members at their lowercorners.

7. A refiner support structure as in claim 1 characterized by each ofsaid base segments having means defining mounting flanges on oppositesides thereof adapted to rest on ground surface, portions of saidmounting flanges to respectively opposite sides thereof having aformation affording said means for anchoring of the connected basesegment to the supporting foundation in a fixed relation thereto andother portions of said mounting flanges having symmetrically arrangedelongate openings accommodating attaching means for said base segmentsand the relative movement of said base segments to the extentaccommodated by the elongation of said openings.

8. A refiner support structure as in claim 1 characterized by meansprovided in underlying relation to portions of said base segments tofacilitate a smooth axial elongation and displacement of said basesegments relative to said plane.

9. A refiner support structure as in claim 1 characterized by at leastone said base segment including an inboard and an outboard pedestal insubstantially parallel spaced relation and said segments being joined attheir adjacent upper comers by rail members forming said interconnectingmeans and said anchoring means being located in a plane common to saidinboard pedestal.

10. A refiner support structure as in claim 9 characterized by each ofsaid base segments being provided at opposite sides of their bottomswith flange means a portion of which includes apertures for applyingbolts therethrough to afford said anchoring means and said flange meansincluding elongate slots for receiving therethrough hold down meanswhich provides, within the limits of said slots, an axial shifting orelongation of said base segments.

11. Refiner support structure as in claim 10 characterized by bearingmeans disposing in underlying supporting relation to the flange meansincluding said elongate openings.

12. A refiner support structure including a base comprised of pairs ofinboard and outboard pedestals, top rail means commonly joining all saidpedestals at upper edges thereof, and bottom rail means joining eachoutboard pedestal to an adjacent inboard pedestal but beingdiscontinuous with respect to adjacent inboard pedestals to obviatebowing of the base due to differential response of said top and bottomrail means to applied thermal loads.

13. A refiner support structure according to claim 12, characterized bymeans for mounting said base to a supporting foundation to apply aguided restraint to longitudinal elongation of said base under thermalexpansion.

k =l= k

1. A refiner support structure including a base comprised of end spacedbase segments arranged to seat to a supporting foundation and meansinterconnecting said segments in an area limited to upper portions oftheir most adjacent end surfaces, said end sPaced segments and saidinterconnecting means defining a well accommodating opposed refinermeans at least one of which rotates relative the other and said basesegments having means for anchoring thereof to the supporting foundationin a plane generally transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof andfurther means to provide for connection thereof to the supportingfoundation in a manner to accommodate axial elongation and displacementof said base segments relative to said plane whereby to generallymaintain the level of said base segments.
 2. A refiner support structureas in claim 1 characterized by each of said base segments definingbearing support structure for orienting the supported refiner means in apredetermined opposed relation and the arrangement and construction ofsaid base segments providing means tending to maintain the predeterminedopposed relation of said refiner means.
 3. A refiner support structureas in claim 1 characterized by said base segments having a pair oflaterally spaced rail structures forming said interconnecting meanswhich are positioned to their outer sides and adjacent their upper endsto establish the upper level of said base segments in a desired plane ofreference and said base segments being otherwise free of and relativelydisplaced from each other.
 4. A refiner support structure as in claim 1characterized by said base segments having additional anchoring meansadjacent the bottom thereof formed to provide for a guided restraint ofsaid base segments inhibiting vertical displacement thereof from thesupporting foundation.
 5. A refiner support structure as in claim 1wherein each of said base segments includes an inboard and an outboardpedestal in substantially parallel spaced relation and said segments arejoined by top rails providing said interconnecting means, said outboardpedestals being located at the remote ends of said segments and saidinboard pedestals being included in adjacent end portions of saidsegments, said inboard and outboard pedestals providing thereon meansfor accommodating in a bearing relation thereto shaft means mounting theopposed refiner means.
 6. A refiner support structure as in claim 5characterized by said end spaced base segments being interconnected byrail members at upper corners thereof and the inboard and outboardpedestals in each said base segment being interconnected by further railmembers at their lower corners.
 7. A refiner support structure as inclaim 1 characterized by each of said base segments having meansdefining mounting flanges on opposite sides thereof adapted to rest onground surface, portions of said mounting flanges to respectivelyopposite sides thereof having a formation affording said means foranchoring of the connected base segment to the supporting foundation ina fixed relation thereto and other portions of said mounting flangeshaving symmetrically arranged elongate openings accommodating attachingmeans for said base segments and the relative movement of said basesegments to the extent accommodated by the elongation of said openings.8. A refiner support structure as in claim 1 characterized by meansprovided in underlying relation to portions of said base segments tofacilitate a smooth axial elongation and displacement of said basesegments relative to said plane.
 9. A refiner support structure as inclaim 1 characterized by at least one said base segment including aninboard and an outboard pedestal in substantially parallel spacedrelation and said segments being joined at their adjacent upper cornersby rail members forming said interconnecting means and said anchoringmeans being located in a plane common to said inboard pedestal.
 10. Arefiner support structure as in claim 9 characterized by each of saidbase segments being provided at opposite sides of their bottoms withflange means a portion of which includes apertures for applying boltstherethrough to afford said anchoring means and said flange meansincluding elongate slots for reCeiving therethrough hold down meanswhich provides, within the limits of said slots, an axial shifting orelongation of said base segments.
 11. Refiner support structure as inclaim 10 characterized by bearing means disposing in underlyingsupporting relation to the flange means including said elongateopenings.
 12. A refiner support structure including a base comprised ofpairs of inboard and outboard pedestals, top rail means commonly joiningall said pedestals at upper edges thereof, and bottom rail means joiningeach outboard pedestal to an adjacent inboard pedestal but beingdiscontinuous with respect to adjacent inboard pedestals to obviatebowing of the base due to differential response of said top and bottomrail means to applied thermal loads.
 13. A refiner support structureaccording to claim 12, characterized by means for mounting said base toa supporting foundation to apply a guided restraint to longitudinalelongation of said base under thermal expansion.